I was recently invited to attend the final round of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals in Barrie, Ontario. Neither my boyfriend nor I had ever been to an event like this and we were free, so we thought “What the heck, it’ll be a different way to spend the day!”
No matter whether it has two or four wheels, racing is racing in my mind, just at different levels. The Rockstar Motocross Nationals is grass roots racing and unbelievably competitive. I couldn’t believe how crazy it was to watch the start of the race with more than 30 bikes all trying to get to the front, going over bumps and catching lots of air many, many times per lap.
I saw very few crashes and was quite impressed with the control the riders had. The races were a half-hour in length and looked like they could be a great weight-loss program. Those riders worked their butts off and must have been exhausted by the end because of the extreme intensity. Although I ride a motorcycle and want to lose some weight, never in a million years would you catch me doing something like this. (In my mind I’m still 20 years old, but the rest of me isn’t!)
When I was standing with my friend on top of a trailer watching one of the races, I asked if there were any female riders. Riding a bike would be no different then driving a racecar. The racecar doesn’t know if it’s a guy or girl driving it, so why would a bike? The short answer is “no” but everyone watching would know if it were a girl riding. My friend said there weren’t any women competing that day, but they did race the day before in their own class. Their own class…
I don’t get it, why do women have to have their own class? This makes no sense to me and just goes to show that there is still a lot of work to be done to break down barriers for women in motorsports. I should also mention that there were some very pretty “sexy” Rockstar Energy girls to start the race and give the riders their awards at the end. Some things never change…
Race car driver, educator, safety advocate, TV personality, Kelly Williams started racing cars at 17 years old and continued to race for 15 years. Now she works in the automotive industry, teaching women about taking care of their vehicles. She also teaches performance driver training with BMW as well as other manufacturers, keeps busy as a spokesperson for Be Car Care Aware, hosts ladies' Car Care clinics across Canada, and has recently launched a new consumer website www.KellysGarage.ca
#KellyWilliams #AskPatty #Canada
from Ask Patty - Automotive Advice for Women http://ift.tt/2czB4e8
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